


Rationalizations

by gladsomemind



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Dubious Consent, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-16
Updated: 2009-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-21 21:52:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6059389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gladsomemind/pseuds/gladsomemind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur makes a decision that is for Merlin's best interests.  No really...</p>
<p>Old LJ Fic</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rationalizations

It was strange. For months Merlin had been, well, Merlin. A manservant, part of the furniture, someone who was just there, a body to bring clean clothes and food, nobody, barely worth even the effort of noticing.

Now though? Now he appeared to be living in Arthur's brain. 

It started with an overheard conversation. A group of knights had been discussing their latest conquests and their future targets. Nothing new in that, it was a fairly standard occurrence either before or after one of the big feasts. There was always someone who was willing to overlook the knights' obvious faults for a quick fumble or roll.

"What about the ears?"

"Just gives you something to hold on to."

A low laugh in agreement, "OK then, he's a bit scrawny. Not a lot of padding there is there?"

"My friend, you look at it in completely the wrong way. Sure there isn't the padding you get with, say, one of the cooks, but the bone structure of those hips. It's just begging to be held as you pound your way in!"

"Fine, fine, you want to make a play for Merlin you go for it. Better make sure he's willing though. You don't want him complaining to Arthur that you forced yourself on him. Think on that mess with the serving girl of..."

By the time the two had moved out of earshot the damage had been done. Someone saw Merlin as an object of potential affection and, as he was a member of the royal household, it fell to Arthur to make certain that Merlin was safe. The only problem with that was whether Merlin was aware that it was up to Arthur to keep him safe. It wasn't as if the boy had shown any particular survival traits since being in the town. 

All that had been a week ago. A week spent watching Merlin when he was moving around Arthur's chambers. A week contemplating what had been said. Looking at the ears, looking at the hips and wondering would Merlin welcome the advances of one of the Camelot knights. 

Unfortunately, every time Arthur had tried talking to Merlin, the younger man had just looked so innocent that Arthur was unable to bring himself to actually ask if he had a preference for one particular sex or if he knew that if anyone tried to press their attentions on him that he could tell Arthur who would deal with it discretely.

Which brought him to here. Standing outside Gaius' chambers in the middle of the night about to go in to his manservant's room in order to molest him!

The reasons were simple, easy enough even for the idiot himself to understand. Arthur couldn't ask, as Merlin was just too naive to realise what Arthur was talking about without spelling it out completely, which wasn't going to happen.

So, if he visited Merlin's room in the night, when Merlin wouldn't be able to tell who it was he would be able to tell lots of things. Whether Merlin would welcome advances from a man, Merlin wouldn't know who it was but would be able to tell the sex of his seducer. If he was fought off then it would be clear and Arthur would be able to subtly warn off the knights. If he wasn't pushed away then he could stage a retreat and let whatever happened happen.

If Merlin mentioned what happened the next morning then it would be clear that he was aware that he could tell Arthur what was going on so that the Prince could deal with any repercussions sensibly. If he didn't then he could have a quiet word with Morgana to speak to Gwen to tell Merlin. 

The door to the outer chamber was unlocked, which meant that the physician must still be out attending the birth he had been called away to earlier. It was an added complication, Arthur needed to be out before the old man returned or he chanced being caught, defeating the object of the plan - that being Merlin not knowing who his seducer was other than a man.

Torches burned in here but Merlin's room was going to be pitch-black with the small window shuttered against the night. Unluckily, due to the number of times he had had to search for his manservant, Arthur was comfortable enough with the layout that he should have no difficulty navigating to the bed.

Cracking the inner door open, Arthur took a moment to check that Merlin was alone before closing the door and plunging the room back into darkness. The screen at the end of the bed was new but would probably work to his advantage as it blocked the line of sight to the door. Arthur would be able to make a discrete exit when the time came.

With the door closed, the prince took a breath to calm down before moving carefully over to the bed. From the glance he had taken around the screen he stopped where he judged the back of Merlin's head would be. With no source of light it was like taking a step back in time to games played with the other noble children. Only the point of tonight was not to catch and name another child whilst blindfold but find out what Merlin's proclivities were.

Slowly reaching out a hand, Arthur trailed a calloused finger down the shoulder blade of the prone man and up the back of his neck, getting a murmur in response. Still tentative, he moved the finger up to caress Merlin's left ear. This time he was rewarded by the other man leaning into his touch, so far as to actually roll over onto his back.

Feeling his way in the dark, Arthur moved his hand so he could caress Merlin's lips with his thumb, bringing his head down to capture them with his own. With a sleepy moan Merlin parted his lips and Arthur deepened the kiss and his world contracted at the taste of his manservant exploding on his tongue. 

A contented moan from the man in the bed got the prince moving to lie on the bed, half covering the other man due to the lack of space. Moving his lips down to the junction of his neck and shoulders he sucked on the skin there, savouring the flavours that met him, at the same time grinding his hips against the thigh of the other man.

This time the noise from Merlin was more of an indignant squawk and he pushed up against the prince's shoulders causing Arthur to pause.

What was he doing? There was no way that this was anything other than getting himself off on an unwilling partner. Something he had claimed was what he was trying to prevent. Prising himself off the writhing body he quickly moved over to the door, stumbling over a book that had been left in the middle of the floor, and slipped out closing the door behind him with a click.

In his rush to leave the scene of his crime he missed Merlin's soft query.

"Arthur?"


	2. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur muses on what he's done. Or this is not the sequel you were looking for.

It hadn't been a good night for Arthur. Disgusted with himself for his actions and the abuse of his power, self denial had seemed like the smallest penance he could perform.

The lack of release, however, had made it nigh on impossible to fall asleep. Going over and over in his head the way Merlin had felt beneath him had served only to make him more aroused. He could still taste his servant and wanted to do nothing to dispel it.

Torment was supposed to be good for the soul; a torment that could only get worse as he had to face Merlin this morning. 

Would he say something to Arthur about the previous night's molestation? Expect his lord to do something about the faceless visitor he had had to fight off in his room.

How could Arthur even meet his eyes? Where was he anyway? It was well past the hour that he should have arrived to help prepare Arthur for the duties of his day.

What would he do if Merlin didn't show up? What if his experience the night before had him running home rather than deal with the depravities of court life.

The thought of losing Merlin was almost painful. There wasn't anyone else in Arthur's retinue who was prepared to answer back like Merlin did. No-one was a greater challenge to his authority or fit so well against him. Arthur emitted a groan as his body responded once more to the sense memory of Merlin's body against his own.

He had to do something to make this right. Something to make him stay. A word with Morgana to lend him Guinevere, to get Gwen to talk to Merlin to make sure he knew that no-one had the right to force him to do anything. Trying to work out how to get the two women to help might even manage to take Arthur's mind of why he couldn't talk to Merlin directly.

Why had he gone to Merlin's room last night? So, okay, maybe it wouldn't work too well at distracting him.

There was no good reason he couldn't have just sat Merlin down and told him what he had overheard. It wasn't as if he was inarticulate. It would have been so easy to just say 'Merlin, I overheard a couple of knights talking about coercing you into bed. You do know that you can turn them down if you want to? Or take them up on the offer if that is what you wish. And, if anyone gives you a problem let me know and I will sort them out.'

Easy, Arthur thought on, maybe I can still do this. Maybe give it a couple of days to let the unpleasant memory of the night before fade. Invite the confidence so Merlin could say that he liked women.

There was a clatter at the door as the object of these ruminations finally saw fit to put in an appearance.

All thoughts of being supportive of Merlin's choice of bed mate went flying out the window as Arthur was hit with one possessive thought; 'mine', at the sight of a love bite on Merlin's neck.

However, right now Merlin was looking at him as if he thought Arthur was either going insane or wanted to throw something at him.

"You're late." A great way to start the conversation; guaranteed to invite any and all confidences.

Merlin ducked his head. "I know, my lord."

This was bad; Merlin never addressed him with anything close to the proper respect. He really was going to leave him!

"Gaius got a message this morning. An old colleague is coming to visit and, well, he asked me to give up my room so his friend could stay for the duration."

Merlin was babbling but right now Arthur didn't care. Maybe he wasn't going to leave. Not that Arthur would give permission for him to go anyway,

"...while I could stay in the main dormitory with the rest of the male servants. I wanted to ask, as you have so much room and I'm a good sleeper, no noise, snoring or anything."

What was he going on about? He looked adorable right about now, even if Arthur wasn't really following the conversation, more watching Merlin's lips move.

"Arthur? Could I stay here with you?"

What!


	3. Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am Ohm of the Borg. Resistance is Voltage over Current. Or the boy wonder wouldn't shut up.

It hadn't been a good night for Merlin. First fending off one of Arthur's knights in a hallway, why the man just wouldn't take no for an answer he had no idea. Having to be rescued, by Morgana of all people, was just downright mortifying. The look on the Knight's face when Morgana told him that she would be talking to Arthur about his treatment of the castle staff had been priceless but had been spoilt by Morgana ranting at him after the knight slinked off.

"Why don't you talk to Arthur about them? Get him to tell them to leave you alone. It's not as if he doesn't owe you something! Having to rescue you as if you were a damsel in distress is not how I should be spending my evening." On that parting shot she had swept down the corridor back to her rooms, leaving Merlin gaping in the corridor.

Getting back to Gaius' rooms he had been met with a slate with a note that the old man had been called out to a birth and wouldn't be back until late and that he needed to speak with Merlin in the morning. Taking the opportunity granted by his absence Merlin had spent half the night studying the magic book, until the rush light had burnt down when it had fallen to the floor as Merlin lay down to sleep.

Sleep that was soon disturbed by soft caresses and careful kisses; kisses that deepened quickly and became connected to a blissful friction from the weight on top of him. Grinding on top of him, his night-time visitor shifted his attention down to Merlin's neck and Merlin got to inhale the essence of his partner. At the wholly recognisable smell of Arthur, Merlin groaned again as all his solstices came at once.

A bite at the base of his neck turned that groan into more of a yelp and he pushed up against the prince's shoulders to get him to desist from that line of attack and return to far more pleasurable pursuits. Then the weight was gone. Noises came from across the room as Arthur made his way to the door cracking it open. Even then Merlin had thought that Arthur had just heard something and had gone to check it out. When the door clicked closed and no more noise came from Merlin's room he had to resign himself to the fact that the Prince had left.

Left him completely aroused and unable to get back to sleep.

The arousal was easy to get rid of. The fear that he had done something to upset the prince was harder. What if Arthur had decided that he wasn't worth the effort? Would he still have a job in the morning or would Arthur pretend that it hadn't even happened to spare Merlin the embarrassment? What was he thinking, since when did Arthur ever do anything to save Merlin embarrassment!

Sleep when it finally came again was fitful but he still managed to oversleep. Being woken by Gaius to be told that he was going to lose the use of his room for a few days was just the cherry on the top of his night. It wasn't so much that he objected to letting the physician's friend have his room, it was more that not only did the senior servants, which Merlin had surprisingly been told he counted as, sleep at one end of the main hall but so did most of the knights, which was going to put him close to his amorous archway acquaintance of the night before.

Late rising meant late to the kitchens to collect Arthur's breakfast, which in turn meant he met Gwen on her way back from returning Morgana's things. After a strange moment where she seemed to be staring at his neck, Merlin found himself pouring out his problems into her baffled ear.

The advice, "ask Arthur if you can stay in his rooms. I stay with Morgana if it is too late to get back home in an evening. Most of the nobles have their servants stay in their rooms anyway so no-one would even notice. You are probably more noticeable because you stay with Gaius. Although that could just be the amount of time Arthur spends sending someone looking for you."

The last was coupled with a glare that quickly a smirk and then a laugh. Leaving them both giggling in the corridor until she sent him off with a push and a, "if you are going to ask a favour you had better make certain he has at least been fed."

Tray collected, Merlin made his way up to Arthur's chambers. Fumbling his way in the door, because really how was anyone supposed to carry the tray and deal with the door latch at the same time, he was shocked to see Arthur up, dressed and looking ticked off. Okay the ticked off was nothing new and it was therefore not surprising to not get a cheery 'Good morning Merlin. Did you sleep well? Sorry I had to dash thought I heard Gaius come back lets fall into bed now and pick up where we left off.'

"You're late." Yep that was typical Arthur.

Which in turned garnered its usual response from Merlin. "I know my lord." Tacking on the my lord part to deflect some of the anger and to soften the prince up for the question that he knew he was going to have to ask or never hear the end of it from Gwen. A question that would be so much easier if he wasn't still waiting to hear that he was fired and being thrown out of Camelot for disappointing the Crown Prince!

So launching into the speech he had practiced all the way from the kitchens, Merlin started his build up. It was a good build up, all about Gaius and his colleague and completely leaving out everything that had happened last night in hallways or darkened rooms and why was Arthur looking at him as if he had gone insane?

The question had to be asked though, or he stood a chance of being molested while he slept and not in a good way! "Arthur? Could I stay here with you?"

From the look of shock on his face it seemed that this was the point that Arthur was going to deal the death blow to his employment status and prospects. What was he going to do if he had to leave Camelot? It wasn't as if he could go home. Will might be glad to see him back but there was less chance to hide what he was with such a small group of people. The anonymity of Camelot really worked in his favour on that score.

"Of course you can Merlin."

Morgana? Great Gwen and her big mouth!


	4. Rout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discretion is, supposedly, the better part of valour.

"Of course you can Merlin." 

Arthur was as shocked to hear Morgana's answer as he had been by the question itself. From the look on his face though Merlin was a lot less surprised, which meant he had been talking to Gwen.

The usurping of his position in his own rooms couldn't go unchallenged though. "Morgana, unless I am mistaken these aren't your quarters. Are you offering Merlin space in your own rooms?" Because if you are he isn't going to accept.

As he was talking to Morgana, Arthur could just make out Merlin trying to sneak out around the side of the arguing couple. That wasn't going to happen and his progress was arrested with a curt, "Stay." Morgana, however, didn't look remotely phased by Arthur's anger and continued to look at him as if he was the one who was being unreasonable.

"Has Merlin told you what happened last night?" Good God, Merlin had gone running straight to Gwen with his tale of what had happened the night before.

"Merlin has done nothing this morning but bring my breakfast late and babble incessantly to make up for it." If attack was the best form of defence then he would attack for all he was worth.

Morgana looked at him as if she could see his actions of the previous night written large across his face. "The actions of one of your knights brought Camelot into disrepute." She did know what had happened the night before!

"I found Merlin in a corridor, pinned to the wall by one of your band of hoodlums. What would have happened if I hadn't come along I dread to think!" She was starting to pace now, never a good thing where Morgana was concerned.

Arthur wasn't too worried about Morgana's temper at the moment, he was angrier at Merlin for wittering on about Gaius and not telling him what had happened. That and wanting to get his hands around the neck of the culprit - training that morning was going to be very uncomfortable for someone.

"Is this true?"

Merlin recoiled from the brusque enquiry. "I would have been alright..."

Morgana was standing in front of him by this point and twitched the neck of his shirt away to reveal Arthur's love bite on his neck. "Really Merlin? That wasn't how it looked from my end of the corridor."

She turned back to face Arthur. "Anyway, when Gwen mentioned that Gaius had a visitor and Merlin would be sleeping in the common room I simply thought that it would be better for all concerned if he was kept as far away from last night's bastard as possible."

Smiling sweetly, another bad sign where Morgana was concerned, she gazed into Arthur's eyes. "Don't you agree Arthur?"

With the knowledge of his own actions weighing heavy there was nothing he could do but agree. "Of course." The agreement to Merlin staying in his rooms gave Arthur hope that he could make amends for his part in Merlin's problems last night. Happy that Merlin felt comfortable enough with him to be willing to spend time in his company, rather than taking the dubious protection of a room full of servants and knights.

"And you should know that, with a position in the Royal Household, you are not obliged to put up with any advances that you don't want to." Now was as good a time as any to make certain that that instruction had been received by the younger man.

Morgana gave an unladylike grunt at that. "No-one should ever..." She trailed off as both men looked at her, "never mind. You wouldn't understand."

Arthur turned back to Merlin. "Do you understand? You have to put up with it from no-one." Merlin nodded; for once in his life he didn't appear to have an, overly familiar, smart comeback.

The moment started to grow into an uncomfortable silence as everyone considered what had been said. Merlin was the first to break, under Arthur's gaze, and started to open his mouth. As earlier, it was Morgana's voice that rang out. "Good, now that's settled it will be easy for Arthur to actually teach you some self defence moves. Then I won't need to rescue you again!"

She graced Merlin with the smile that had all of Arthur's knights drooling. A smile that dropped as she turned to Arthur, "and Arthur, that doesn't mean that you get to hit Merlin until he falls down. It means you teach him how to fight back."

Morgana turned and glided over to the entrance. Pausing with one hand on the door she turned back to look at the two men.

"Oh Merlin, one last thing. Arthur's bed is large enough. Don't let him make you sleep on the floor."


	5. Reconciliations

Merlin was troubled. The events of this morning still had him shaken, not least because he hadn't had chance to actually talk to Arthur before the prince had left for training. He had wanted to avoid telling him about the evening before as he had known it would end up being his fault; something that could have been avoided if he was totally incompetent. 

The fact that the knight had been drunk, and therefore not likely to notice the additional judicious push from his magic, wouldn't have even registered. Ok so his magic wasn't an excuse he particularly wanted to use as it would just shift the situation from being an argument about his general uselessness to a charge of treason.

There was also what had happened later. Pretending that hadn't happened had worked well for both of them first thing this morning, and it looked like Merlin could avoid getting fired - for today at least.

Now, however, he was faced with hand to hand combat training with his crush of months. A crush that had returned to his rooms slightly rumpled and even nervous, yet for some reason still totally smug. What Arthur had to be nervous about Merlin didn't know, it wasn't as if he was going to be the one about to end up bruised and aching.

This evening was about combat though. A topic that Arthur was more than familiar with, which is why he was currently walking around Merlin looking him up and down.

"Now, what is the best way to do this?" Merlin shrugged. There wasn't a single response that wouldn't get him into trouble with that question.

"I've got it!" Any expression of glee like that could only foretell extreme pain for Merlin about to arrive. "I'll be you. You can be your 'admirer'. That way I'll get to see where you went wrong. We can then work on what it is you should have done.

Merlin looked at the prince. Did he think that this was a joke? That being propositioned in a corridor by drunken louts was fun? That it was acceptable for his men to be wandering around the building accosting whoever happened to be passing at the time?

Forgetting what happened in the corridor, there was Arthur's behaviour in Merlin's room last night as well. Were they supposed to be forgotten when talking about random molestations? 

Merlin saw nothing but red. If this smugness was what he had to deal with then he was going to run at the problem with no restraints. Arthur wanted to know what happened to him last night, then that was what he was going to get. The opportunity had presented itself and he wasn't prepared to pretend any more. 

So what if the prince didn't want Merlin. Merlin wanted the prince and for a few minutes that was what he was going to get.

***

Arthur's day had been bloody brilliant. Escorting Morgana down to the training grounds he could have done without but at least she had pointed out which knight had perpetrated the corridor offence. She also had said nothing about what had happened that night in Merlin's room so maybe he hadn't gone running straight to Gwen.

The guilty knight, and Arthur didn't consider himself guilty in this respect as he had left at the first signs of distress from Merlin, was volunteered to be the sparring partner of a very annoyed, and yet extremely competent, prince. With Morgana standing on the sidelines watching the punishment there could be no doubt that his hapless partner understood just what was going on.

Now it was time to start to teach Merlin how to defend himself from unwanted attentions. From Morgana's tale it was clear that it wasn't just a case of relying on the honour of his knights to prevent such occurrences, although after today there could well be some second thoughts. Whether he would ever be able to teach his manservant to defend himself against a knight Arthur doubted. Untrained versus well trained would nearly always come out on the side of the trained man. He should be able to teach him to defend himself from advances from anyone else though.

Walking around Merlin to gauge his strengths and weaknesses almost had him backing out of the whole thing. It was unfair to expect anyone to be able to teach anything when it entailed laying hands on the frame in front of him. From the top of his scruffy hair, down past his rapidly reddening ears to the tight little backside that Arthur had to prevent himself from reaching out and grabbing on an almost daily basis, Merlin was a walking come-on.

The suggestion that Merlin play the aggressor was, if Arthur was honest, a way of getting Merlin to touch him in something other than an impersonal basis. Oh he intended to make certain that Merlin learnt enough to defend himself but to start with he might as well get what enjoyment he could out of the situation. From his actions the night before, Merlin wasn't interested in men and Arthur would respect that. Just as soon as he had gathered enough memories to keep himself going for the next few months.

Despite all these thoughts, it still came as a surprise when Merlin stepped forward, put his hands on Arthur's shoulders and pushed him up against the wall.

"Let me see." Merlin was almost purring as he stayed close to Arthur rather than stepping away. His hand came up and a finger was trailed down Arthur's neck. The lightness of the touch was more of a tickle than a caresses but it still sent a jolt down to his groin. "It went something like this."

***

Right at this moment Merlin didn't care if this would lead to him being thrown out of Camelot. He had permission to touch Arthur in ways that he had known, without being told - thank you very much, would not be acceptable in a servant.

Rubbing his thumb against Arthur's lips he repeated the prince's actions from the previous evening and leant in to kiss him. A feather-light caress that was over almost as soon as it had begun but had Arthur extending his neck to maintain the contact; attributable, Merlin was sure, to Arthur's normal reactions rather than wanting his kiss.

Plausible deniability was the key here. Arthur had told him to demonstrate what had happened the night before. If challenged Merlin could always claim that he was merely following the prince's orders and complying with his request. There was no reason that anyone would need to know that this was what Merlin had dreamt about doing for months.

As Arthur was still standing with his hands pressed against the wall, Merlin took the opportunity to angle his head and trail kisses down the prince's neck. When he reached the bottom he repeated Arthur's final action from the night before and treated the prince to a love bite of his own.

***

The sudden shock of the bite, after the softness of the actions before had Arthur reacting instinctively. A leg was hooked around Merlin's and both of them were tumbled to the floor as Merlin clung to his shoulders. Landing on top of Merlin in a position reminiscent of before Arthur froze. There wasn't any way they could easily extract themselves from this position. Any movement was going to involve a certain amount of friction and he was a little too aware of his erection.

Merlin grinding his hips up in an attempt to throw Arthur off was not helping. Arthur rolled the two of them over so the slighter man was lying on the top. It would also give Merlin the opportunity to escape.

Staring into each other's eyes Arthur realised that the actions Merlin had copied had been his own. The knowledge that it had been Arthur in his rooms was written for anyone to see. Breaking the eye contact Arthur turned away and closed his eyes. How was he supposed to deal with this in the future? Merlin would get up in a second and walk out the door, never to be seen again.

"It was you."  The tone left no room for query, no room to pretend that Arthur had no idea what it was that Merlin was talking about. A punch to his shoulder and then Merlin rested his head where he had just hit. "You left."

The pain in Merlin's voice made him want to protect him forever. Nothing should make his friend sound like that. That it was Arthur's fault...

Wait a minute - the pain was because Arthur left?

Arthur flipped them over again so he could look down at Merlin. "You pushed me away." Arthur wasn't going to take all the blame for Merlin's pain, not now. "Everything I have been brought up to believe said that I had to stop." The Code of Chivalry was all - the kingdom was built on it!

It took a moment to realise that the shaking he could feel was Merlin trying to suppress his laughter. "You bit me!" Okay, so there was no need to sound quite so accusatory. "It hurt. I wanted you to stop that - not stop!"

With Merlin's hands in his hair he found his head being pulled down so Merlin could bestow a completely different sort of kiss. One that Arthur decided he could happily participate in. 

Finally getting a little short of breath, Arthur pulled away so he could look down to check that Merlin was happy with the turn of events. This hadn't been the way he had wanted this to go. Not that he was complaining but this hadn't been the plan. None of his plans were working out quite the way he expected them recently.

From the dazed grin on Merlin's face he was quite happy with what was happening. Although that impudent gleam in his eye was probably not going to work in Arthur's favour.

"So." No not at all in his favour. "One question for you?" Despite the gift for prophecy he appeared to have manifested, Arthur nodded.

"Is this an acceptable tactic for the next time I am caught in a corridor by a knight? Because you do know that Morgana is going to ask if you have taught me to defend myself. She might even want a demonstration." All delivered with an almost earnest look on his face. 

A tiny movement of his hips had Arthur grinding against the younger man. "Merlin, if I find out you have used these 'tactics' on anyone, be it knight or king's ward, I will personally tie you to my bed." Merlin looked a little too eager to try that out for Arthur's mental state.

"Tomorrow we can work on the self defence moves you can use. For now, I suggest we try the only sensible suggestion to ever come out of Morgana's mouth, and see just how big my bed actually is."

A surprisingly strong push to his shoulders had Arthur rolling onto his back. Dazed he watched Merlin jump up and practically run to the bed. Mustering up the power from somewhere Arthur raised an eyebrow at him?

"What? Floor hard, bed soft - this isn't difficult even for someone who gets hit around the head on a daily basis!" Arthur was then treated to Merlin's pout and groaning he fell back against the, hard stone, floor. "Aren't you coming?"


	6. And the Winner Is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little coda to the rest

It was obvious to all and sundry that Arthur and Merlin had finally gotten together. 

That left only one question. Who had won the pool on when they would make the change in their relationship? There was only one person who knew - "The Holder of the Pot". 

Morgana was still furious that she had almost certainly lost as her date had been a good week previous. Gwen had been convinced that they would have taken even more time.

With a quiet knock on the door, Gaius moved into the chamber to hand over the coin purse. "Your winnings Sire."


	7. Repercussions

Merlin was woken with soft caresses to his face, an altogether pleasant way to start the day. Of course he was late waking up to wait on the prince but that was less of a problem now that his commute entailed rolling out of bed and pulling his breeches on.

Smiling sleepily at Arthur, he neglected to spot the gleam in his lover's eye. Concentrating instead on the soft lips and what he would like them to be doing. Lips that moved down to press a kiss just beneath is left ear in accordance with Merlin's thoughts.

Lips that whispered in his ear, "Merlin, will you help me with something?"

"Of course. Anything."

More kisses. "Wonderful." Then Arthur got up from the bed to collect some rope that had been lying on the table. "There's something I need to practice."

Still not completely awake, Merlin made no objections as Arthur tied him securely to the bed. Each bond was accompanied by more kisses and low explanations about securing prisoners in war. 

With the completion of the last knot and murmured comments about rabbits and trees, Arthur reached down to grab something of the floor, then worked his way up Merlin's body trailing kisses as he went.

"Not too tight?" Even now Arthur was wary of hurting him. A shake of the head from Merlin got him another smile. Bringing Merlin's scarf into view the last thing Merlin saw before being blindfolded was the smile changing to a smirk.

"Do you know what I saw yesterday?" Arthur's question came out of no-where to Merlin who was expecting the kisses and touches that were accompanying it.

A shake of his head and the prince continued, "I saw you flirting with Sir Owain. You were fluttering your eyelashes like a girl. You were told what would happen if you did that."

Merlin screwed up his face he honestly couldn't remember any conversation about fluttering eyelashes, not that he ever would do that, at Sir Owain. 

"You don't remember?" Arthur continued seductively. "Well you'll have plenty of time to think about it, I've got patrol this morning."

With that the weight on the bed shifted and Merlin heard Arthur moving around the room collecting something. The sound of the door opening was shocking.

"Arthur. Arthur? Arthur!"


End file.
